For those who ride around the five hour mark on a relatively flat course (like Florida), do you know what your watts per kg normally are?
it varies dramatically
n=1 IMAZ 2019
2.5 watts/kg for a 5:02 of riding time
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2.5 watts per kg sounds about right… 200w for an 80kg biker. But you can do it on less I was that 80kg athlete and did 4.50 ish one year on about 175W average. its all about your body position and natural shape. are you tall … narrow shoulders? … good luck
I think I was at 66ish kg.
Good position, regular equip (wheel cover, gp5000s w latex).
Good times when I was fit. Just being a dad now!
185W Avg, 70kg. 4:55 in Maryland (not very windy that day)
Don’t want to start a discussion here, but isn’t the tarmac roughness very important too? I have no exact data, but my gut tells me speed can differ 2 km/h dependent of the surface.
2.5 to 2.6 for me.
N=2
2018 IMMD (flat and relatively calm) 4:42:43 on 205w (2.74w/kg)
2019 Kona 5:05:21 on 190w
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Note: To hold 200W for an IM means having an FTP in the 280-300W range. So assuming a 75kg rider, that’s 4W/kg or a touch under.
My last race was 240watts average, 82kg body weight. Dodgy shoulder meant I was like a meerkat on the bike.
Total time was slightly over 6hrs. Lot of climbing and lot of wind. None of the descents truly flat out.
280-300w for FTP sounds a bit high to go 200 in the IM? Unless it’s an overestimated FTP?
I would say it’s doable on a 265-280w FTP. If you have spend enough time around 200w in training and got your hours in the bank (low vLaMAX).
But on the other hand - if your FTP is high as a result of HIIT and low volume… 280-300w FTP could maybe even be to little.
My last race was 240watts average, 82kg body weight. Dodgy shoulder meant **I was like a meerkat on the bike. **
Total time was slightly over 6hrs. Lot of climbing and lot of wind. None of the descents truly flat out.
I am giggling at this visual, Thank for writing this!
280-300w for FTP sounds a bit high to go 200 in the IM? Unless it’s an overestimated FTP?
I would say it’s doable on a 265-280w FTP. If you have spend enough time around 200w in training and got your hours in the bank (low vLaMAX).
But on the other hand - if your FTP is high as a result of HIIT and low volume… 280-300w FTP could maybe even be to little.
%FTP for an IM is typically in the 65-80% range. Most AGers are in the lower part of that range (that’s why I used 2/3FTP); getting to the higher end requires a lot of training volume. If I look at TO’s 2019 Kona (he was 2nd off the bike); he did ~275W. That would put him at 80% if his FTP was ~350W. In reality it’s probably significantly higher (375-385), so he’s riding at 70-75%FTP…and he’s a top pro.
Another data point, Taren did 207W on the bike on a 300W FTP during his Roth sub-10. That’s a fit AG who’s being fastidious about not overbiking.
My last race was 240watts average, 82kg body weight. Dodgy shoulder meant **I was like a meerkat on the bike. **
Total time was slightly over 6hrs. Lot of climbing and lot of wind. None of the descents truly flat out.
I am giggling at this visual, Thank for writing this!
That visual was pretty accurate, my left shoulder ended up compensating for my right injured shoulder and after 90km I had a lot of the flat sections with my left arm down by my side, very similar to that meerkat there. So not only was my head doing the meerkat, seems my arm was too….
Lot of great information here. Thanks all! Trying to dial in my bike split before Florida and it helps a lot to have some hard numbers to reference.
I think your aeroness (w/cda) are pretty important here. I’m tall and a sail on my XL bike. 211 avg watts for 5:20. That’s based on a 3.9 - 4.0 w/kg (80kg, 315ish FTP). I probably could have pushed over 70% FTP but not sure how much another 10 watts would change the outcome. Closer to 5 hour split though.
I’d check out best bike split. It does a pretty good job at estimating finishing times and you can mess around with different wattages, etc. to see where you end up. If you have a previous race you can use to dial in your bike settings (racing position, bike type, etc.) that helps as well.
I just found this article and found it helpful:
https://www.triathlete.com/training/use-data-power-meter/
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Lot of great information here. Thanks all! Trying to dial in my bike split before Florida and it helps a lot to have some hard numbers to reference.
Good luck but are you trying to work backwards from a time you want?
In a way isn’t it irrelevant what time you or others will get from a certain power? The right power for you is the right power for you and the time will be what it is. Otherwise you might as well save the expense of a power meter and just try and average 22.4mph. Sorry if I misread.
Lot of great information here. Thanks all! Trying to dial in my bike split before Florida and it helps a lot to have some hard numbers to reference.
Good luck but are you trying to work backwards from a time you want?
In a way isn’t it irrelevant what time you or others will get from a certain power? The right power for you is the right power for you and the time will be what it is. Otherwise you might as well save the expense of a power meter and just try and average 22.4mph. Sorry if I misread.
Nah, I’m not trying to plan my race with these numbers. Just curious how my numbers stack up and yeah, it’s probably irrelevant to my race what others do, but it gives me some helpful comparison benchmarks. All good